As usual, I had something entirely different in mind when I began The Woman Behind the Curtain. I had discovered a photograph on Wikimedia of a rather beautiful ruin, which was tagged as the arches at the Sonargaon Folk Arts and Craft Museum in Bangladesh, and was intent on a purely architectural piece. I tried several ideas but none of them worked until I added a background texture from 2 Lil’ Owls.

The effect led me to imagine secret hideaways and whispered plots and, once I’d added the theatre curtain from EKDuncan, I knew exactly what was needed and went straight to the Rijksmuseum.

This enterprising museum has opened its site to artists who can now download masterpieces and create their own work. The woman behind the curtain is Alida Christina Assink, whose portrait was painted in 1833 by Jan Adam Kruseman. I have Pat from The Art of Mimulux to thank for alerting me to the treasures available at the famous Dutch gallery.